


Panic

by LJax75



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Other, Short, Therapy, i don't know what to tag, kinda OOC, school counselor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:54:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23356507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LJax75/pseuds/LJax75
Summary: Zim is sent to the counselor's office when a teacher grows concerned for him.....I'm going to just outright say this is probably going to be pretty ooc.
Relationships: Dib & Zim (Invader Zim)
Kudos: 43





	Panic

Zim sits in the counselor's office kicking his feet keeping unusually quiet. The counseling office was an unusually quiet place in this school after all. It was also small and just as grungy as the rest of the school

"Zim, do you understand what I'm saying?" The counselor asks again.

"Eh, not really, " Zim admits still unsure why he was sent here. He hadn't been doing anything wrong as far as he knew. Perhaps it was a bit odd for him to lose his breath and have a meltdown that ended with him laying on the floor beneath his desk rocking back and forth. Something Miss Bitters wouldn’t have batted an eye at. This teacher however cared or something. Sometimes he really missed that terrifying woman, If this had happened in her classroom he wouldn’t be here right now. The teacher had picked him off the floor and told him to go to the counselor’s office. He had barely been listening to whatever this counselor woman was saying. He figured disinterest would make the adult human grow bored of him and then send him back again. That's what usually happened when Zim was sent somewhere away from the classroom he was meant to be in. He didn't even know what a counselor does and he didn't even have time to demand information from Dib before coming so he decided he didn't care much.

"Zim, have you ever had a psychological evaluation?"

"No?" Zim answered, finally meeting eyes with the counselor lady.

She seems to study him for a moment, "perhaps it's time you had one."

"Zim doesn't need one of those, " Zim hurriedly states his voice wavering slightly, "Uhm, Zim is a healthy boy human." 

The counselor frowns while Zim looks away again, "I'm sure you are Zim. But this little evaluation is just a precaution."

The counselor sighs, "I will be scheduling a meeting with your parents to ensure-"

"The parents are sure to disagree with your assessment thing so do not call." Zim quickly cuts in the panic clear in his voice. This made her eyes look sadder. He didn't know why. He didn't like it. 

"I see, " she pauses, "well then we will have to just have the meeting alone." Zim is rendered speechless a difficult feat anyone would tell you. "I'll be calling you down tomorrow and we'll have a little chat." She pauses noticing his panic, "Zim, I promise this process is going to be alright

"I’m just trying to help you, Zim." She swirls around in her chair. "Everything we do will be for you. Now get back to class."

Again Zim was silent.

//

After school Dib immediately was on Zim about what happened. Of course, Dib was concerned. Counselors could see past masks. He knew that all too well.

"The stupid Counselor thinks there's something wrong with Zim! She wants to do something called a...uhm, psychological evaluation?" Zim sticks out his tongue in disgust. 

Dib frowns turning his gaze to the sidewalk something he's unsure about saying is about to come out of his mouth Zim would tell, "it's not a bad idea Zim-"

Zim gasps, "how could you say such a thing, Dib-worm?!" 

Dib gave Zim a hard stare, something more confident replacing that old fear "You've told me before how things are like on Irk. And I've thought about it, " Dib pauses, "they don't usually treat disabled Irkens... Or like Defective ones, " Zim frowns, "very well. You've said Irkens aren't really known to feel strong emotions but like... You, Tak, Skoodge. You all seem to have a wide range of them! Granted I haven't met many other Irkens..."

"Where are you going with this?" Zim snaps.

"I'm just saying... Humans kinda have this thing where some of us actually kinda try to help others when they have issues dealing with their emotions." Dib shrugs, "I mean at one point I had to do the same evaluations and you've seen the Medication I take." Dib shrugs, "maybe this could help you?" 

Zim turns away and for the rest of the walk, there's silence. Dib couldn't tell if Zim was angry the alien had just closed off. Even when they parted ways all was silent. 

//

Zim heard the tune of a video game coming from his left and he focused on it. He was on his side his eyes locked on the visible wires hanging from the ceiling in his lab. He doesn't remember why he was having a little trouble maintaining focus on them. Zim sits up.

Gir immediately starts cheering as soon as he sees this, "yay you're not dead!!"

Zim glares at the robot who just smiles, "Gir-"

"You were bein' loud and stuff!"

"Gir-"

"You were all over the place screaming and clawing your head like a monkey, " he says gesturing all over the room and mimicking a monkey for a moment, "And then you flopped onto the floor."

"Gir-"

"Then I sat next to you like I always do when you freak out."

Zim tries to find a response to that but nothing comes to mind right away. Zim frowns shoulders slumping.  
"And then you sat up and started saying stuff and now I'm sain' stuff. But I'm done saying stuff." Gir picks up his game console again and after a moment shoves the screen in front of Zim’s face a large smile splitting the robots face, "ooo, play with me!!!"

"No Gir."

"Pleeeseeaaaaasss!!!" Gir cries over and over again gradually picking up speed and volume.

Zim sighs, "ugh okay fine!"

As Zim humored Gir for a bit he thought about what exactly that was. Why did it happen so often?

It was always an overwhelming buzz of his brain as his thoughts run too fast for him to comprehend and Zim finds himself splayed across a surface as he tries to physically ground himself and slow his brain down for a bit. He's always just thought of it as a side effect of thinking a lot. Too much thinking. 

If that was the case it didn't matter much right now anyway.

Right now he had to figure out what game Gir had gotten himself addicted because that was he wanted to focus his mind on. He didn't want to consider what this means. What Ms. Nell and Dib had said to him.

//

Zim was a little terrified to go to school with the looming threat of a trip to the councilors office. As he makes his way to the building he fiddled with the bottom of his shirt watching the ground pass by.

"Hey Zim, " Dib pops up beside him and Zim jumps. To his credit, he didn't scream. 

"Dib-worm, " Zim responds trying to rid his face of any fear plaguing his mind. Unfortunately, Dib has gotten good at reading him. And unfortunately, Zim was shit at hiding anything.

"Are you nervous?" 

Zim scoffs, "what?! No."

Dib gives him a deadpan look, "Zim. It's alright. Miss Nell isn't going to hurt you. It's just a few tests, " when Zim cringes Dib corrects himself, "questioners and stuff. Nothing like the nurse’s office." 

Zim tried to let that comfort him but he couldn't help but worry. Luckily or unluckily depending on how you look at things Zim was called down earlier in the day. Walking into that office and sitting down in the chair across the table from Miss Nell Zim could have sworn he felt the temperature drop. 

"How are you feeling today Zim."

Zim frowns, "like death."

//

"How did it go?" Dib asks after a while of stillness. Zim glances at the other through the corner of his eye.

"She said I most likely had an anxiety disorder and a bunch of other stuff I don't remember." Which was a lie, he remembered all of them, he just didn't want to think about it.

Dib nods, "okay then."

Zim looks down at his boots toeing a rock around, "there's so much wrong with Zim. Zim is not right."

"Yeah, but there's something wrong with pretty much everyone. I'm not sure there's even such thing as a right person Zim."

"Zim is defective, " he says flatly. Dib frowns. Dib knows what that means and Zim knows he knows.

"Defectives are useless and cause nothing but destruction."

"Zim is only trouble. Why does the Dib stay?"

Dib frowns, "okay, so what if you have issues. I do too. I'm not just going to throw you away because you're difficult sometimes." 

Zim looks away again, "do you promise?" Dib almost missed it because he had spoken so quietly.

"Yeah, " he responds honestly. Silence follows and for a while they let it be that way.

"What did she say you should do?"

"She said Zim should visit a councilor downtown, " Zim sticks out his tongue, "but it's icky down there."

Dib snorts, "if it helps I'll go with you." 

Zim glares at him, "can't you see Zim is trying to avoid going."

"Yeah, but I think it'll be good for you."

Zim sighs, "I don't want humans poking at Zim's messy brain meats."

"It won't be that bad. And you don't even have to continue going if you don't like it, " Dib gives Zim a soft smile, "just give it a chance Zim." 

"Okay." Zim submits giving Dib a rare genuine smile in return.

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason, I titled the original document for this story "Too much Too little yet not nearly enough."


End file.
